BEIJING, Sept. 19 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese research team has described and assembled the genome of Longjing-43, a widely cultivated tea cultivar in China, shedding light on the domestication history of tea.

Longjing-43 tea is famous for its early germination, high yield, strong stress resistance, and favorable aroma and taste.

Based on the assembly of a high-quality chromosome-scale genome of Longjing-43 tea, scientists from the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences discovered the secret of the cultivar's high performance.

The research team also collected and sequenced 139 tea samples from across the world to reveal the domestication history of tea.

It was shown in the study that the Chinese tea species with smaller leaves have a richer flavor due to their unique genetic expression.

The study was recently published in the journal Nature Communications.